Disney Plus To Arrive In Italy Via Telecom Italia Mobile

Disney (NYSE:DIS) has struck its second European distribution deal for Disney+ in a week – this time with Italy’s Telecom Italia (MI:TLIT) Mobile (TIM).

The multi-year agreement makes TIM the exclusive wholesale distributor of Disney+ in Italy via its TIMVision platform.

Disney+ will be bundled with TIMVision’s fiber broadband packages on an exclusive basis. Details of package pricing are unknown.

Ahead of the launch on Mar 24, the company has been signing multiple carriage deals for Disney+ to expand its streaming footprint across Europe.

Disney+ Extends European Reach With Sky Network

Recently, Disney signed an agreement with Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) owned Sky to carry its service on Sky Q and Now TV in the UK and Ireland ahead of Disney+’s UK launch on Mar 24.

Sky customers with the Sky Q box will be able to pay for access to Disney+ similar to Netflix and iPlayer already available on the set-top box service. The availability will be followed by Sky’s streaming service NOW TV in the coming months.

Disney+ already has a deal with France-based pay-TV firm Canal Plus, making it the sole distributor in France. Other European countries including Germany, Italy, Spain, Austria and Switzerland, Belgium, The Nordics (Scandinavia, Finland, Iceland and Greenland) and Portugal will join UK in streaming the service this summer.

Disney+ Cheaper Subscription Offer to Hurt Netflix

Disney’s global expansion efforts for Disney+ are expected to provide tough competition to Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) with its cheaper subscription offering especially in European markets.

Notably, Disney + has gained 28.6 million subscribers since its November 2019 launch. It is predicted to hit 126 million subscribers worldwide by 2025. This compares to Netflix’s 167.09 million global paid subscribers of which 51.78 million were from EMEA region reported in the last quarter.

Last month, Disney introduced an early access offer ahead of its launch in markets across Western Europe, allowing signs up to the platform at EUR 59.99 rather than EUR 69.99 for an annual subscription till Mar 23.

This means that Disney+ will be cheaper than Netflix for viewers who opt to buy a yearly subscription — Netflix charges EUR 71.88 for a yearly subscription in the United Kingdom.

Additionally, Disney+ will offer similar monthly subscription plan as Netflix at £5.99 with no discount offered.

Meanwhile, Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) streaming service Apple TV+ is available in the United Kingdom at EUR 4.99 per month. However, Apple TV+ lags behind Disney and Netflix’s wide content library of original shows, movies and documentaries.

Disney’s Content Popularity: A Key Catalyst

Growing popularity of Disney+ makes it a key catalyst for the company’s prospects owing to a strong content portfolio and a cheaper bundle offering.

Propelling the deals is Disney+’s content popularity. The streamer will release season 2 of The Mandalorian in October, which helped skyrocket subscriptions on its November release.

Additionally, a new Marvel adventure, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, begins in August. Moreover, a 10-episode series based on The Mighty Ducks movie, with Emilio Estevez and Lauren Graham also premieres later this year.

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